It's Academic

Virtual Journal Club Spring 2024

January 4, 2024

Greetings and Happy New Year!

You are cordially invited to participate in the Spring 2024 series of the Virtual Journal Club, sponsored by the College & Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association!

Please use this form to indicate which topic(s) you would be interested in reading about in the fall series, as well as indicate your scheduling preferences.

You are welcome to attend one, two, or all three of the meetings to discuss the readings. If you are interested in participating, please feel free to sign up – there is no cost and no commitment beyond your time to read and discuss the articles.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Fall 2023 series on artificial intelligence!

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Thank you, and have a great day!

—

Melissa Correll (she/her)

Student Success Librarian

Assistant Professor

Liaison to the School of Education & HAPS

Arcadia University

Beyond End of the Year/Semester Reflection

December 15, 2023

tags: assessment, library instruction, mindfulness

by Cecelia Lasley

The end of the year is a time when many of us pause to reflect whether or not January will begin with a New Year’s Resolution or not. The end of the semester is similarly a time when many of us catch our breath and look back on the previous few months. However, what if we could reflect more regularly throughout the semester, even during the chaos of peak instruction periods? I know this is something to which I aspire, especially as an early career librarian who is always looking to improve my practice (especially in instruction).

Mandi Goodsett argues in her 2014 article, “Reflective Teaching: Improving Library Instruction Through Self-Reflection,” that reflective teaching practices – practices that help the instructor/librarian reflect on the class – can help fill the training and experience gap surrounding instruction that many early career librarians (including myself) encounter (12). Goodsett recommends a mix of journaling with recording one’s own classes (with student and professor permission) and feedback from a “critical friend” (12-14). Goodsett used the different sources of reflection to create a more comprehensive picture of how to improve her instruction using both her own perspectives (journaling), her students’ reactions to the lesson (recording), and advice from a more experienced colleague (critical friend) (12-14). While this system worked well for Goodsett and I can attest to the value of a “critical friend” (in my case, my ACRL Instruction mentor), it may be difficult to recreate in its entirety depending on the dynamics of your library and institution.

At LOEX 2023, Michele Santamaria and Kimberly Auger advocated for using Notion software as a tool for a variety of library related tasks, but also as a method for making reflective journaling part of your regular practice. I use Notion as my task management software (inspired by this session at LOEX), but I have yet to achieve the kind of reflective uses of it that Santamaria and Auger discussed in their presentation. The crux of their session was to find a system that helps you manage tasks, have space for journaling reflection, and stay organized in a way that feels like it is helping you rather than being another chore or repetitive task that you don’t want to do. The grace that Santamaria and Auger advocate for could blend well with any of Goodsett (2014)’s strategies as a librarian works to become more reflective and better organized about their instruction without being too hard on themselves either.

Being more consistent about instruction reflection can also make more formal assessment a more natural part of the instruction process, rather than a daunting thing that comes around on occasion. Sarah Wagner, Erika Mann, and Ann Marshall (2021) examined two different student feedback forms from library instruction sessions and the feedback that they received in order to argue for strategies to use this assessment feedback to help librarians improve as well as have something to use with outside parties (23-27, 29-31). Wagner, Mann, and Marshall encourage librarians to stop and reflect on why they are using the assessment tools that they use and whether or not they are actually getting the kind of data they need from that assessment (25). Adding in reflection about assessment, something that Wagner, Mann, and Marshall acknowledge is daunting for many librarians because of assessment’s role in justification of library services, judgement of instructional effectiveness, and personal performance reviews, can help reduce that stress because the librarian will be more confident that the assessment is optimized to gather useful feedback from students that can be used to both improve instruction and for the previously listed external tasks (23-24, 28-31).

While my reflection on reflection today is brief, these articles and sessions have encouraged me to work to bring in some of Goodsett (2014)’s reflective strategies, especially journaling, into my work on a more regular basis this coming semester. How do you incorporate reflection into your instruction? What are your goals for the new year/new semester?

References

Goodsett, M. (2014). Reflective teaching: improving library instruction through self-reflection. The Southeastern Librarian,62(3), 12-15. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/seln/vol62/iss3/3?utm_source=digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu%2Fseln%2Fvol62%2Fiss3%2F3&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages.

Santamaria, M. & Auger, K. (2023, May). Creating flexible and nourishing work systems: using Notion to “librarian” more humanely [Breakout Session]. LOEX 2023, Harrisburg, PA.

Wagner, S., Mann, E., & Marshall, A. (2021). Toward a thoughtful assessment practice: using reflection to guide library instruction assessment. The Reference Librarian, 62(1), 23-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2021.1913466.

Opportunities abound at the end of the year

December 6, 2023

by mabogino1

I am a tenure-track librarian. I am two years into this role, and I have learned in this short time that preparing my packet for review takes organization, self-reflection, and time. Though a hectic time of the year, my colleagues mentioned that the end of the year has historically been a good time to work on creating this packet because the semester begins to wind down to a close. The packet reflects a yearlong testament to the variety and flexibility that make up the role of the health academic librarian. As I worked this month on gathering together information to compile for my packet, which includes information on scholarly, committee, and professional work, I realized that opportunities abound even at the close of the year, for participating in activities that could be included within the packet that showcase both my commitment to the profession and reflect my values. I have listed some of these activities and examples to share to provide ideas of potential ways to add to your documented professional tenure journey. Also, don’t forget to give yourself some grace at this time of the year, rest, and time to spend with family and friends.

Cheers!

Volunteer opportunities

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Library committee and our library marketing team worked to schedule a volunteer opportunity with a neighboring community outreach and advocacy group to provide needed food and supplies to support students and community members to help decrease food insecurities. Kudos to our library marketing team! Philaabundance serves our community members without the partnerships we have throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. https://www.philabundance.org/supporting-community-partners/

Training opportunities

Sponsored by the Clinical Librarians and Evidence-Based Practice and Research caucuses, a workshop on writing abstracts for poster presentations and journal articles. To participate, you will not need to be a member of the Medical Library Association or the caucus, though membership will be required to obtain CE’s

Thursday, December 14th for “Abstract Writing Workshop” offering MLA CE’s.

No registration is required. Join us at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82356210454?pwd=bk43NUR2REVCc1U2QWVLZ1RIM3dVQT09

Meeting ID: 823 5621 0454 Passcode: clebprc23

Bloggers Wanted for 2024!

December 6, 2023

by Alex K.

The PaLA College & Research Division (CRD) is looking for anyone interested in contributing to the CRD blog, It’s Academic. So if you’ve been reading the blog, now is your chance to join and share some of your own ideas. We welcome new and experienced bloggers, those who want to contribute frequently, or those who would rather only post a few times a year. Contributing to the blog is a great way to get started writing about academic library topics of interest to you, to call attention to worthwhile ideas, or to publicize important events. A blog post can also be a great way to start writing about an idea that may eventually turn into more formal scholarly writing.

Interested?

Send an email to Alexander Kirby at akirby@pennhighlands.edu. Please include how frequently you would like to contribute to the blog (once a month, twice a semester, etc.) and any scheduling issues you foresee so we know when is a good time to put you on the calendar. If you have any questions, include them in your email.

PaLA – Southeast (SEPLA) Chapter Workshop – Sign-up Today!

November 27, 2023

by Alex K.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

Please join us on Friday, Dec. 1^st at Upper Dublin Library from 9:15am – 3:00pm for: 2023 SEPLA Annual Meeting & Workshop: Exploring Artificial Intelligence in Pennsylvania Libraries.

Keynote Session: Artificial Intelligence in Libraries

Keynote Speaker: Jim Craner (he/him) is a library technologist with The Galecia Group where he helps libraries adopt and implement modern technology tools. With over twenty-five years of experience as a consultant, system administrator, software developer, and technology trainer, Jim brings an engaging and interactive training style to all of his events.

Click here for a full agenda. The day will also include:

An intro to AI from a technology expert
A panel of school, academic, and public librarians discussing AI usage
Afternoon roundtables that allow for hands-on AI use and discussion of other hot library topics, such as intellectual freedom
The opportunity to obtain several hours of CE credits
A delicious box lunch is included in the price, along with the chance to socialize and network with colleagues – an amazing value!
Raffles prizes!
Not just a learning opportunity – this event financially supports the important work of the SEPLA chapter (PALS sponsorship, Awards, and more)

INVESTMENT: $45 PaLA Member | $50 Non-MemberREGISTER: https://www.palibraries.org/event/2023SEPLAWS

We can’t wait to see you there!

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Special Offer for SEPLA Annual Meeting Attendees: 20% discount on library tech training offerings from the Galecia Group in 2024, covering artificial intelligence and more. To redeem, email Lori Ayre at lori.ayre@galecia.com

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This message has been sent on behalf of the 2023 SEPLA Annual Meeting Workshop Committee

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This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, Governor.******************************
Support is also provided by the College and Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association. https://crdpala.org/